Together at last at Twilight Time
by KaysMama80
Summary: Seven years after Edward and Bella’s breakup, they meet again for Rosalie and Jasper's 30th birthday reunion/vacation with the crew. Can they renew their love the second time around or are they destined to end up irrevocably broken? A/H, Rated M.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: All Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**This story is not to be reproduced or translated without the expressed consent of the author.**

**Thank you, enjoy!**

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**Together at last at Twilight Time**

Chapter 1

Bella's POV

_Sitting on the cooling sand, I admired the vast ocean before me, and the colors cast upon the evening sky. What was once a clear light blue has turned into a mosaic of vermilion, sapphire and indigo. It was twilight, my favorite time of the day. There was a slight chill in the air, a predictable occurrence once the sun had set and the ocean breeze remained a constant. I instinctively huddled into myself, my knees up to my chest, my arms crossed over my calves. _

"_A-ha…I should've known you'd be out here. I've been looking all over for you." Edward playfully kicked some sand onto my feet as he sat down next to me, mimicking my position._

"_Sorry babe, I was just sitting here, admiring the view." My body leaned into his, my eyes still gazing up at the sky._

"_I'm admiring the view as well." _

_I immediately blushed and looked over to smirk at Edward, but was met with his deep emerald eyes piercing into mine, filled with so much awe and affection. And passion…always passion. The breeze forced a few locks of his wild and perfectly disheveled bronze hair across his eye. I leisurely ran my hand through his thick mane, lifting it away from his striking features, eliciting a soft groan from his lips in the process. _

"_Do you like what you see?" A coy smile surfaced from my lips. I had to tease him. _

"_I love what I see, Bella." My smile swelled to the point where it hurt._

"_I love what I see, too."_

_And with those simple declarations which we've said to each other countless upon countless times, he gently pushed me onto my back, his strong and lean body hovering over mine, and gave me a soft and lingering kiss. What started out as tender and slow suddenly became hasty and needy. He finally moved to kiss my neck, lightly nipping at it with his teeth and lips as his hand started to roam down my side and under the hem of my shirt. When Edward's fingers came in contact with my stomach I quietly gasped. I always felt the electricity whenever we touched, and it was always rewarded with the same reaction every time. His fingers slowly ascended my side, lightly tracing the curve under my breast._

"_Edward," I breathed, my breaths becoming more pronounced and erratic._

"_Bella," he whispered into my ear before he swirled his tongue around my earlobe and took it into his mouth._

_I could feel his fingertips inching higher and higher, almost there at my hardened nipple. Almost there…_

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Motherfuckkkker," I groaned into my pillow. I was startled awake by my blaring alarm clock. _The worst sound in the entire world. _With my eyes still shut, I blindly reached for the clock to slam my palm down and silence it, hoping that the next nine minutes would be enough time for me to drift back into dreamland and resume where Edward had left off. Sadly, it never happened. Instead, I remained in bed for those nine minutes, visualizing the dream, which was so vivid that I swore it for the real thing. However, this wasn't just any dream…this was a memory. A very distant memory from a time when there was an Edward and a Bella. A time when we were together and were madly in love.

Over the past seven years, I've had my fair share of Edward-related dreams. It was hard not to dream of the man who had been your entire life for four years. The best years of my life thus far. But ever since my dear friends, and fraternal twins, Rosalie and Jasper Hale, informed me that they had planned a two week vacation for their 30th birthdays which our "crew" from the University of Washington was to attend—no questions asked—my dreams of Edward occurred almost nightly. That was three months ago. And this morning, as I finally turned off my alarm at 5:09am, and crawled out of bed, I was faced with the notion that in roughly 18 hours I would come face to face with Edward Cullen.

In theory, Rosalie and Jasper's plan was brilliant. They wanted everyone to reunite at their parent's beach house on the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach. This had been our annual Spring Break and summer vacation retreat since freshman year of college—a lot of fun and crazy memories were had and made at the Balboa House, as we all aptly named it. The last time we all stayed there as one big group was right after our graduation from UW in 2002. Now, eight years later, Rosalie and Jasper wanted to commemorate their births by going back in time, eager to relive our glory days for at least two weeks, perhaps with the same wild and reckless abandon. Since all twelve of us thankfully ended up walking the straight and narrow after college, all having hectic yet rewarding careers, there was no time like the present to take a vacation from reality and finally kick back and let loose. We all deserved it.

However, with the brilliant plan in place, I knew seeing Edward again was highly inevitable. For one, Edward is Rosalie and Jasper's cousin. All three of them are very close. In fact, both sets of parents shared the Balboa House, in which the three had their own bedrooms. So for Edward to miss his cousins' momentous birthdays would be a very huge deal. I am fairly certain Rosalie would have threatened to cut off his manhood had he excused himself from the festivities.

The other reason is that Edward's own retreat is three houses down from the Balboa House. Rosalie mentioned that he had bought it six months ago, a small Christmas-slash-Birthday present to himself. He had always wanted that house, for as long as I've known him. He used to tell me that it would someday be ours.

"_Just look at our beach house. Our very own Balboa House, baby. Someday, just you and me and our little family."_

And now he finally owned it…our dream beach house. From what I heard, he spends what little free time he has at that house. So unless he's working during said birthday-slash-reunion-slash-vacation, he'll more than likely be three houses down from where I'll be staying.

I groggily walked over to my dresser and picked up my cell phone to text Rosalie.

"_I'm up, Bitch. I'll be ready and waiting at 6am for your sweet ass. C U Soon!"_

With that taken care of, I headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. As I was standing under the hot spray of water, my mind instantly wandered to my imminent encounter with my ex. _What will he say? How will he act? Would a simple hug suffice? Kiss on the cheek? God, it's been four years since I've seen him. And even then it was awkward to say the least._

My mind shifted to the summer of 2006 at Angela Weber and Eric Yorkie's wedding. They were part of our UW crew and since we were all so close, they wanted both of us present for such a special celebration, even though everyone knew that our breakup was complicated and not entirely amicable. They figured it had been three years since we parted ways and we'd be able to be in the same room together and remain civil. Which was true; we were both adults. But seeing him with his new girlfriend, Charlotte, ignited all these feelings which I haven't had to suffer through in years. So being the adult that I was, I kept my thoughts to myself, acted like I didn't have a care in world, and remained in the arms of my then boyfriend, James. He knew who Edward was, but he also never knew the kind of hold Edward had on me. Even after three years of no contact. And now another four years since Angela and Eric's wedding. _What kind of effect will he have on me when I finally see him after all this time?_

As soon as my shower turned cold, I realized that I had stayed in there for longer than I expected. It was now 5:37am and I knew Rosalie and Jasper—along with Emmett McCarty and Alice Brandon, their respective fiancés and fellow UW crew members—would be at my doorstep at 6am sharp. I quickly got dressed, put my towel dried hair up in a messy bun, brushed my teeth and applied tinted moisturizer and lip gloss. We were going to be in a car for almost an entire day—makeup was hardly necessary. Thanking the heavens that I had already packed my suitcase the day before, I headed straight for my coffee maker. I made two strong cups from my Tassimo system and poured both into my large travel mug, making sure to add extra sugar and Coffeemate. As I waited for the coffee to cool, I power walked around the house, making sure every door and window was locked and every electronic appliance was turned off. As soon as I finished checking the stove, I heard a loud knock on the door. I opened the door to see a smiling Emmett in front of me.

"What did we tell ya, 6am on the dot! Are we good or what?"

"Good morning to you too, Em."

"Wow, Bells, I see you're all set to go. I'm impressed. Here, let me take your bag."

"Thanks Em." I handed him my bag and locked my front door, taking a deep breath as I walked the pathway to Jasper's Range Rover. _This is it, Bella. No turning back now._

"Hey Bells, you ready to go?" Jasper gave me an excited smile from the driver's seat as I climbed into the backseat next to Alice and Rose.

"As ready as I'll ever be. Hey bitches!" Alice, Rose and I all gave each other quick pecks on the cheek as soon as I closed the door behind me.

"Morning, Bella. And how are we feeling this morning?" Alice gave me a curious look.

"I'm feeling okay. A little nervous, but okay."

Everyone was aware of the big giant elephant in the…car. They knew that Edward and I would soon have our second meeting in over seven years. After being inseparable for the four years before it.

"Everything will be fine, I promise. Everyone's going to be there and it'll be just like old times…but without the drama. Plus, both of you are single so there won't be any awkwardness of having a 'plus one' there," Rosalie stated, hoping that all would go well and according to plan.

"I know, but just because we are both single does not mean that it won't be awkward. And it definitely won't be like old times for us, we're not gonna start making out as soon as we see each other. It's been so long, we've probably both changed so much."

"Well I didn't think you guys would automatically hook up or anything. But maybe you guys could finally talk about everything without any…distractions. It's been what, seven years and you've only spoken to him once at the wedding and that was a brief hello at best? I'm sure you guys have a lot more to say than that. This could be your chance to finally clear the air."

And there it was, Deep Thoughts by Rosalie Hale. Leave it up to her to start her "How to Fix Bella and Edward's Relationship" sermon at 6am during an 18 hour car ride. _Oh God, what have I subjected myself to? I'm swimming with four hungry sharks here! _But however horrible the prospect of having to hear four opinions about my and Edward's relationship—or lack thereof—I knew they were all right.

To all of our friends we were once deemed the perfect couple, the ones voted most likely to succeed, the ones who would undoubtedly get married first. After our four years of college those assumptions seemed to hold true. But after graduation, when Edward moved to California for medical school and I stayed behind in Seattle for my Masters, reality started to chip away at our perfect little world. I had never been more destabilized both mentally and emotionally in my entire life than that one year of being in a long distance relationship with Edward. That one year alone had done enough damage to trigger our own demise.

I became envious of the fact that he was able to start fresh in a new city, in a new state, gaining freedom and independence away from all of our friends and family. I was jealous of his new friendships with people who I didn't know or could interact with, especially with other women. And, mostly I was plagued with feelings of self doubt, wondering if he truly loved me when he decided to leave me in Seattle and move over a thousand miles away. I never mentioned these destructive thoughts, since he hardly had anything negative to say about his experience in California. Instead, my issues were left unresolved, just swept under the proverbial carpet.

But there were times when he felt the need to remind me that I was always on his mind and to focus on our future—our plans of getting married and starting a family as soon as he graduated. But because of my harboring uncertainty, I deluded myself into thinking that his words were insincere; after all, actions speak louder than words. He knew I'd be right here, waiting with open arms, and instead I felt like he was basically running away from us. With all the self doubt eating away at me, my subconscious took over to preserve whatever sanity I had left, and I involuntarily started to push him away.

After almost a year of being apart, we had reached a breaking point and I knew I had to end it. I would rather have been the one to leave before he left me. I would've never survived him ending us first. But the way he didn't put up a fight, the way he simply resigned himself to being demoted to friend status, it led me to presume he would have eventually left. After the break up, it took a few weeks for us to completely break free from each other. There was a period where we still called each other, more so out of habit, where we'd try to remain friendly, thinking we could pull off just being friends after being everything to each other for so long.

_How stupid were we?_

Those calls very often led to petty fights. After several petty fights, I realized the mutual love and respect we once had for one another had turned into anger and frustration. And then one day, he didn't call. I never called him to find out why. That day turned into two, three, four. It was as if we had some sort of emotional standoff—neither one wanting to be the one to falter first, at the mercy of the other. Days turned into weeks, months, years. Our emotional standoff effectively became a complete emotional shutdown. It was during that time, that I ultimately grieved the death of us.

Aside from the one time we saw each other at Angela and Eric's wedding, conversations involving Edward's whereabouts were few and far between. Since I was still very close with everyone we were associated with—and as was he—I knew both of us would have a fair idea of what each was up to. He had already completed his first year of medical school at UCLA when we ended things. I knew he graduated right before the wedding and soon found out he was dating Charlotte, a fellow med school graduate. A year later they broke up as he was starting his 2nd year of residency as a cardiologist. Now he is one of the most prominent and promising cardiologists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, juggling a grueling work schedule which effectively kept him away from Seattle.

I also knew he had remained single since dating Charlotte, warranting him the title of most eligible bachelor at the hospital. I would hear some of his dating horror stories through the grapevine and how he never offered any woman a second date. Japser claimed that his schedule did not afford him the luxury of having a woman by his side. Rosalie claimed that he just never found a woman who could ever measure up to me. That sly devil woman, always holding out hope for the fairytale ending—of Bella and Edward living happily ever after. And as much as I hated to admit it, I always wanted Rosalie to be right. _If only we lived in a perfect world._

Fortunately the topics over the next several hours in the car were rather light and random. Our effortless banter allowed the time to pass by quickly, which I was thankful for. Somewhere along the line, I ended up getting slightly carsick. _Perfect time to pop my Dramamine._ I took my motion sickness pill, said goodnight to everyone and closed my eyes. Several hours later I awoke, realizing that I didn't dream of Edward. But then I remembered I never dreamt when I took Dramamine. _Note to self: start taking Dramamine more often._

Noticing my awakened state, the guys decided to pull over at a rest stop so we could all stretch, use the bathrooms and get dinner for the road. We had roughly five more hours to go and at the rate we were driving we'd get there an hour early. Of course with Jasper and Emmett's driving skills—and their luck with never getting caught speeding—we'd definitely get there ahead of schedule. We quickly devoured our fast food in the car while Emmett drove the last leg of our trip. As the excitement of coming back to the Balboa House loomed over our heads, we couldn't help but reminisce about the good times we had all those years ago.

"Remember when we played 'dare or dare' after watching Jackass, and we dared Emmett to funnel Jack Daniels? Seriously, we were the dumbest kids ever!" Rosalie laughed as we all recalled that ridiculous and idiotic night.

"Well thank god there was only less than a quarter of the bottle left. Otherwise there would have been a hospital trip tacked onto that night. That shit was horrible…I'd never do that again, ever." Emmett cringed at the thought of his own stupidity.

"Sorry, but that night was hilarious. You stripped buck naked and ran straight towards the ocean, yelling 'Suck me, beautiful!' over and over again. And right before you got to the water you tripped and fell onto the sand. And instead of getting up, you started making sand angels, face down! Fucking priceless!" Jasper cackled, while everyone burst into fits of laughter.

"Whatever man, you had it easy. All you had to do was snort 2 lines of pepper. Fucking walk in the park!" Emmett retaliated back, defending his antics.

"Yeah, and I'm still sneezing and blowing out pepper to this day!"

At this point, all of us were in hysterics over the funnier memories we were sharing. It was nice to remember the good…and try to forget about the bad. I casually glanced out the window and noticed it was twilight. My favorite time of the day. I had remembered my dream from this morning, and this feeling of nostalgia overtook me. I found myself daydreaming about the Edward and Bella that once was.

They were brief little snippets, all snapshots of sorts—the first time he held my hand, walking to class together, smoking up in his room, dorm room parties, secret rendezvous in the piano practice rooms, unproductive study sessions, drunk dancing at the bars, seeing Seattle from the Needle, our first kiss, making sandcastles on our spring breaks, him teaching me how to surf, making love in his bedroom in Balboa, barbeques on the beach, sharing ice cream sundaes, skinny dipping in the ocean, chasing each other on Newport Pier, laying in bed and talking about nothing and everything…the day we declared our undying love for each other. They were all stolen memories from a past that no longer existed. I was abruptly broken out of my reverie when I overheard Rosalie speaking to someone on her cell phone.

"Alright. Yeah, we should be there in a few, by like 11. Okay. I'll call you when we get in. Of course, we should be up for a bit once we get there. Besides I want a celebratory toast before we all call it a night at least. Oooh, yay! Sounds good! 'Kay, see you soon, love you." Rosalie ended her call and quickly glanced over at me.

"So that was Edward." She spoke to all of us in general, but her eyes were still fixed on mine. "He'll be stopping by when we get there to say hi, help us get settled, whatnot. And he's bringing over champagne for a pre-bday toast!" She smiled back at me, all excited for the next two weeks. I couldn't help but smile back at her. It was going to be fun with all of us being together again…interesting, but certainly fun.

A nervous anticipation swept over me. Edward Cullen and Isabella Swan…coming back to the beginning. I knew this was our chance to talk, to finally deal with all of our questions that were left unanswered. To finally come to peace with what had happened between us and finally gain some closure. I was hoping against all hope that we'd be able to survive this historic occasion with our already damaged hearts still in tact. Or perhaps there was still a silver lining somewhere. Maybe it was somehow possible for us to mend our hearts together and have them irrevocably intertwined in the end.

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Musical Muses:

Don't Panic – Coldplay

Breathe Me – Sia

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**Thanks again for reading. Any reviews are welcome and appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: All Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**This story is not to be reproduced or translated without the expressed consent of the author.**

**A/N: A huge thank you to those who have read my first chapter and to those who have reviewed and/or added me to their story alerts and favorites lists. Your input and support mean a lot to me! Enjoy!**

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**Together at last at Twilight Time**

Chapter 2

Edward's POV

_I was waiting for the perfect moment to pull my cheesy little stunt on Bella. Everyone was shuffling between the deck and the kitchen—the guys were grilling steaks, mixing drinks and chilling extra bottles of beer and wine, the girls were preparing the side dishes and setting the massive patio table. One of our random playlists was blaring through the outdoor sound system, allowing the guys to butcher every song that came on and causing the girls to dance around when they heard one they particularly liked. As soon as Bella hit a lull in her dinnertime duties, I would make my move. _

_Finally, Bella set down the last wine glass on the table, took a swig from her already half empty wine glass and turned to face the ocean, leaning against the deck railing, her hands perched on top of it. The sun had just set as she was staring ahead at the fading horizon. "Perfect," I mumbled to myself, a slight smile forming on my lips. I turned on my "Bella" playlist, quickly downed the rest of my beer and headed out the sliding door as soon as I heard the first song start._

"_Oookay, who put this shitty ass music on?," Emmett whined as he continued to man the grill, not bothering to look up. _

"_Suck it, Em!" I yelled back, giving the finger in his direction as I kept my eyes set on the beautiful sight before me._

_Bella turned to look over her shoulder back at me. She knew immediately what was happening as I headed right in her direction. She was giggling to herself, never breaking eye contact with me as I finally stood right next to her._

"_You enjoying the view, Bella?"_

"_I'm enjoying the view now, Edward." She stunned me with the most gorgeous smile that could ever grace her face._

"_Mmm, as am I," I said to her, leaning down to press my forehead to hers, sharing intimate smiles just meant for one another._

_The rest of our crew was still busy preparing our dinner, but each briefly acknowledged our running inside joke—some with chuckles, others with catcalls— and quickly returned to their tasks, leaving Bella and I to enjoy our private moment._

_After a minute, I swiftly leaned back to stand up straight and I offered her my hand. "May I have this dance?"_

"_Aww, Edward, I thought you'd never ask.," she playfully teased, finishing the remainder of her wine before placing her hand in mine. I felt that spark as soon as our fingers touched—it never ceased to amaze me that it happened every single time. I could have sworn that she always quietly gasped every time, too._

_I guided her out onto the sand and wrapped her in a tight embrace while we swayed as one to Twilight Time by The Platters. Although we had acquired several of "our songs" over the years, this one was our Balboa House song, particularly meant for this time of day. Bella had mentioned Twilight Time the first time we watched the sun set together on our spring break of freshman year. The following night, I downloaded the song and played it through the very same speakers and guided her to the very same spot on the sand to dance with her. We continued this tradition a number of times each year during our spring and summer breaks. It never got old and luckily our friends seemed to tolerate it. But we wouldn't have cared either way._

"_I can't believe we just graduated, babe. It all went by so fast. Too fast," Bella lamented as we held each other. _

"_I know. It sucks that this may be the last time we'll all be together like this…at this house." I looked into her eyes and saw the small tears forming, willing to break free at any moment. I had to make sure those tears would be ones of happiness._

"_But at least you and I…we'll always be together, Bella." I turned her body and pointed to the dream house three houses down…our dream house. I had told her time and time again that we would eventually have that house for ourselves. _

"_Just look at our future beach house. Our very own Balboa House, baby. Someday, just you and me and our little family."_

_She smiled up at me with a small tear falling down her cheek and leaned her head against my chest, relief washing over us as we thought of our future together. _

"_Mmm, it sounds perfect, Edward. I can't wait for my tomorrows with you."_

Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark!

Leah, my chocolate Labrador Retriever, was barking next to my ear, effectively taking me out of my lingering daydream. This morning I woke up from that same dream—or rather an actual distinct memory—except last night's dream continued well into what happened later on that evening behind closed doors. _Damnit, Leah, you're such a bitch. _I rubbed her back and playfully tugged on her ears before she bolted towards the water to chase the waves. I stood up from my place in the sand, brushed off my shorts and started to fling rocks and shells into the ocean. It was still hard to imagine that that would be the last time Bella and I would ever dance together to our song. Or that vacation would be the last time Bella would step foot on this beach…our beach. And now, in a few short hours, Bella would be back at the Balboa House for the first time in eight years…and without me by her side.

In all honesty, Rose and Jazz couldn't have planned their celebration at a better time. I haven't had a real vacation in almost three years—only the lone road trip up the California coast I took right after breaking things off with Charlotte, celebrating my freedom from a relationship in which both parties knew they weren't truly in love. Not like the love Bella and I shared…not even close. But it was during that road trip that I found myself constantly thinking about Bella and reexamining every single detail of our relationship to figure out her true motivations for wanting to split us up in the first place. It got me nowhere since the one person who could help me understand was no longer speaking to me.

Looking back, I always thought my relationship with Bella was going on the right track, even from day one. We met our freshman year at UW, became fast friends and then lovers soon after. Of course being together during those four years of college was no walk in the park, but we overcame every challenge together, always stronger, always enduring. When we found out that I got accepted into the medical program at UCLA, both of us were thrilled, but we also knew that we would have to maintain a long distance relationship since she was going to pursue her Masters in education at UW after graduation. At the time, we thought we'd be able to handle it with no problems…we thought our love was strong enough.

_God, we were so innocent and gullible back then._

The first year away from home—away from my Bella—was the most physically, mentally and emotionally draining year of my entire life. Having to deal with and adjust to the rigorous workload of medical school on top of trying to sustain our relationship was exhausting and frustrating. I became envious of the fact that she was still near most of our friends and all of our family back in Seattle. I was jealous of the new friendships she had made without me around to know about them, especially with other men. And above all else, I felt utterly guilty for leaving Bella to pursue my dream of going to medical school at UCLA. I hardly ever talked about the negative, seeing as though Bella always seemed so optimistic and supportive. I didn't want to let her down. Instead I just brushed it off, as if those thoughts never existed in the first place. When our conversations did hit a sore spot, she would tell me that our separation wasn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things, and that she'd still be there, waiting with open arms for me to return after graduation and start our life together. But the perpetual guilt always crept into my subconscious, leading me to inadvertently push her away.

Soon after my first year of medical school was completed, Bella struck me with a major curveball—she wanted out. I'll admit, I knew we had reached a turning point in our relationship, but I never thought we would ever reach a breaking point. Maybe I was simply too tired to see it. My body felt so depleted, and I knew something had to give. Through the haze of that fateful phone call, I could only make out little fragments of Bella's conversation—too painful, less pressure, easier this way, it's for the best...just friends. But in my mind, this only meant a temporary break from us, where I could focus on my studies, and when that was completed, we could come back together and rekindle what we once had. So as much as it hurt, I accepted Bella's decision and tried to handle it as best I could. We still called each other for a few weeks after our breakup. It was exceedingly difficult to break from such a natural routine. Yet as friendly as we tried to be, we almost always ended our calls having fought over something annoyingly trivial.

And then there was one night that altered the course of history as I knew it, effectively leading me to my existing fate. It was the night I committed the worst possible act which would conclusively destroy everything I had with Bella. We had been fighting non stop after our breakup and I was even more confused and exasperated over our given situation. Feeling a need to release all my pent up stress, I went out to a bar with a couple of buddies for a few drinks. A few drinks turned into several, several drinks turned into numerous shots, and a pretty blonde classmate turned into a one night stand that I would never be able to take back.

The amount of guilt I experienced from that one single action superseded all the guilt I felt for leaving Bella in Seattle. It was overwhelming and devastating. But instead of reaching out to her and being honest with her, I just shut down altogether. I didn't call the morning after it happened, or that afternoon, or that evening. And she never called me to find out why I hadn't called. That day turned into a week, which turned into months, and eventually years. I was a coward who was too weak to keep the one thing that mattered to him. My indiscretion…and my silence…those were the final nails in our coffin.

It wasn't until Angela and Eric's wedding three years later that we saw each other again. We said our awkward yet polite hellos, I introduced her to Charlotte and she introduced me to James. The second I shook his hand, I wanted to beat the living shit out of this guy. It wasn't that he was a horrible guy, but he was with Bella. And anyone who was with Bella who wasn't me, didn't deserve to be with her. Call it irrational, call it possessive…I was jealous when I had no right to be after what I had done to her. So being the adult that I was, I sucked it up, enjoyed everyone's company and held on to Charlotte for the rest of the night. She knew who Bella was and the history we shared, but she never knew about the effect Bella still had on me. Even after all those years.

So after a week into my lone road trip of freedom-turned-angst, wallowing in my Bella infested sorrows, I pushed my feelings aside, yet again, drove back to LA and completely threw myself into my work. Fast forward three years to the present, and I am almost at the point of severely burning out. When I got the call from Jazz a few months back that our whole gang from UW—including Bella—would be at the family beach house for two weeks to celebrate his and Rose's 30th birthdays, I immediately set my schedule so that I would be free from work that entire time.

As soon as my schedule was verified and established with the hospital, my excitement escalated at the idea of reuniting with everyone again and finally being able to unwind and let go. _Surfing, swimming, drinking, laughing…just like old times. _But then the reality of the situation set in and my excitement turned to sheer panic. Bella was going to be here, with us, with me, for two weeks. Immediately my mind went into overdrive. _How will she react the first time we see each other? What should I do? Kiss her? Hug her? Is she even going to want to be around me? Can I handle being around her for that long, after being apart and not speaking for so long?_

Even though the last time I fully spoke to her—because the time at the wedding doesn't count—was over seven years ago, I still knew what she was up to. We were all still friends with the same group of people, plus my two cousins, who are more like a brother and sister to me, are her best friends and still live close to her in Seattle. What I gathered from my sources over the years was that she finished her masters in education in 2004, a year after we separated. Soon after, she accepted a teaching position at one of the more prestigious high schools in Seattle as an English teacher.

A year later she met James, who was a friend of another English teacher she worked with. They were already dating for over a year when she brought him to Angela and Eric's wedding. However, I heard that she broke up with him the following month. Rose and Jazz would sometimes mention the disastrous dates Bella occasionally went on, none of which ever developed into anything serious. Jazz believed that it was because she always put her work first, but Rose believed that it was because Bella never fully moved on from us. That tricky little witch, always holding out hope that one day we'd find our way back to each other. If I was honest with myself, I always held out hope in spite of what had happened. _Only in a perfect world. _

At this point in my trance-like state, I noticed that Leah was already on our deck, barking yet again, and waiting for me to open the sliding door back into our house. I looked up at the sky…it was twilight. I had to go inside. I couldn't look at the horizon at this moment, not without Bella, and definitely not on this beach…our beach. We've been coming here every spring break and every summer vacation since freshman year. My parent's beach house, which we shared with Jazz and Rose's family, was the heart and soul of the innumerable memories we've created over the years. It was the Balboa House that really forged the bonds of our friendship between the twelve of us…our UW crew. And the Balboa House was the beginning of my and Bella's incredible four year relationship. I looked over at the Balboa House, briefly envisioning the two of us laughing and hugging on the balcony of my old bedroom.

_If only things were different. _

I turned to my right, and looked three houses over, to my own Balboa House, what should have been _our_ house, and headed back in that direction. I walked up the deck and opened the door allowing Leah to bounce through before I slid the screened door shut, letting the ocean breeze waft around my open family room. I decided to straighten up around the house to kill time and distract my mind before calling Rose to check in on them.

Forty five minutes later, with the place now spotless, I poured myself a couple shots of bourbon and picked up my cell phone to call Rosalie. She informed me that they would be arriving in a few hours and I mentioned that I'd like to stop by and help them get settled in. She also mentioned that she wanted to have a celebratory toast once they arrived as well. _Typical Rosalie. _I told her I'd bring over two bottles of Dom Perignon just as she wished, which she seemed pretty excited about. Once I hung up the phone, I glanced over to the mantel and walked towards the frame on the far right hand side.

Looking at the picture, I chuckled at the sight of the crazy group of twelve young adults that comprised our UW crew. When I focused on the sight of a young Bella and a young Edward, I couldn't help but recognize the love and happiness so apparent in our eyes. We were no longer those young, naïve, and carefree kids. We had both grown up; and regrettably grew apart. Yet with us reuniting, at the same place where our love first began to flourish, I knew I would finally get my chance to find out some honest reasons for her wanting to leave me. I also knew I would have to divulge the secret I've been bearing all these years which could ultimately keep us apart forever. I didn't know what the final outcome would be after this momentous reunion, but I was nervously anticipating what the next two weeks had in store for two very specific people. Maybe fate had brought us back together for a reason. But one thing was for certain—I would never keep Bella in the dark ever again.

* * *

By the time 11pm rolled around, the slight effects of the bourbon were coursing through my system. I felt relaxed, I felt gooood. Good enough to head down to the Balboa House and finally see Bella again after four god-damn long years. And of course see the rest of the gang, too. I headed up to my bedroom to change my shirt and spray some cologne on when I heard my cell phone ring. It was Rosalie.

"Hey, you guys get in yet? Okay, no problem. I'll be there in a bit. Alright. Bye." _Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. They're here. Bella's here. Calm the fuck down, Cullen._

Starting to feel light headed, I braced myself against the bathroom counter and slowly inhaled and exhaled. _Deep breaths, you can fucking do this._ As soon as I felt myself regain enough balance to stand upright, I walked downstairs, poured myself a double shot of bourbon, quickly swallowed the burning liquor and took the bottles of champagne out from my fridge. Before I could think about anything else that would allow me to lose my cool, I headed straight for my sliding door and walked through the sand towards the deck of the Balboa House.

_Oh, shit. I should have chugged the entire bottle of bourbon._

I was already halfway to the house when I spotted a figure standing on the deck under the moonlight and twinkling stars. I blinked my eyes a couple of times, making sure I wasn't hallucinating. I could recognize that figure from anywhere. Suddenly I stopped in my tracks, unable to move any further, just mesmerized by the sight of her. There she was, my Bella, leaning against the deck railing, just like I remembered she had always done all those years ago. Her head was tilted up, her eyes were closed, her body simply drinking in the salty ocean air as it lightly caressed her perfect face. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun and I desperately wanted to take that fucking clip out so I could see her beautiful long hair again.

And just then, as if she could hear my thoughts, with her eyes still closed and her head still tilted, she raised one of her hands to the back of her head and unclasped her hair, freeing her wavy mahogany locks to dance along with the breeze. In that moment, for a split second, I had a vision of Bella and me in the same exact spots, Bella unclasping her hair in the same manner, and Bella opening her striking chestnut brown eyes to look over at me, sending me a playful smile.

And like that the memory vanished. I nearly collapsed right there on the sand. Instead, I let out long and drawn out breath which I had been holding the entire time I've been watching her. I saw her open her eyes, yet this time she stared straight ahead into the darkness, the moon being our only source of light. Appreciating that she hadn't seen or heard me yet, I decided to finally move again and walk right towards her. There was no stopping me now. I had to talk to her, I had to touch her, I had to look into her eyes again. I had to be near her.

_I had to be with Bella._

* * *

Musical Muses:

Sparks – Coldplay

Let You Down – Dave Matthews Band

* * *

**You finally made it through the first two chapters! My apologies for both being so long and chock full of information so quick off the bat. But now you have an idea of what happened and now in future chapters you get to see Edward, Bella and the rest of the characters in action. I hope you all keep tagging along as we see their journey unfold. Thanks again for reading and reviewing!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: All Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**This story is not to be reproduced or translated without the expressed consent of the author.**

**A/N: Thanks again to those who have read so far, and those who have added and reviewed my story. Here's Chapter 3, hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

**Together at last at Twilight Time **

Chapter 3

Bella's POV

There were no other sounds except for the turbulent waves crashing onto the shoreline. I was barely able to make them out in the distance. Twilight had already passed, taking with it any remnants of our long and drawn out day on the road. Aside from the faint glow coming from the kitchen, my only other source of light was the luminous full moon above. I stared at it for a minute, noting the different shades of grey where I imagined all the dips and craters would be scattered across the surface. The moon always looked so vivid from this beach. I forgot exactly how beautiful it was, having not seen it from this viewpoint in eight years. But seeing it now, I was comforted by the fact that it was just how I remembered it.

I closed my eyes, basking in the moon's comforting radiance, memories of my nights on this beach slowly creeping back in. My hair ached to feel the ocean breeze once again and I freed it from the confines of my hair clasp. I inhaled deeply, tasting the salty air, feeling the wind whip around me, hearing wave after wave break upon the sand. It was tranquil and unforgettable…_it was home_. With that overwhelming realization, I quickly opened my eyes to the reality before me. The surrounding darkness reminded me that I haven't considered this place home in a long time and it would never be the same home as I knew it to be.

Suddenly something to the left of my periphery caught my attention. I was slightly startled by the movement at first, but then I noticed it was a person walking towards the house, towards me. Realization struck me; even in the faint light I knew exactly who that person was. _Edward. _A rush of heat soared through my body while a flood of butterflies assaulted my stomach. I willed myself to keep breathing. _Am I ready for this?_

The closer he got, the more I was able to make out his distinguishing features—strong, muscular legs accentuated by beige linen shorts, broad shoulders and a lean torso enhanced under a form fitting forest green t-shirt. _Christ, he's so gorgeous…shit. Not the time, Bella._

I couldn't help but stand motionless at the railing and gawk as he walked up to the deck and slowed his pace once the distance between us reached a only few feet. He placed the two champagne bottles on the railing next to me, never breaking eye contact. I could see him more clearly now and was stunned by the intensity in his eyes. Although it was too dark to see the vibrant green which continuously haunted my thoughts and dreams, I was still taken aback as I helplessly stared into them. A nervous tension swirled between us, thick and palpable in the air. It was quiet for a moment, each of us wondering what to say and who would say it first.

"Hey…" he finally said.

"Hi…" _So…it's going to be like this?_

"Bella…you look…amazing… It's so good to see you."

"Thanks, Edward… It's really good to see you, too."

_Fucking awkward as hell! _

We paused for a few seconds, unsure of what came next. Then I saw him hesitatingly move towards me, presumably for a hug or a kiss, maybe both. I wasn't sure what the correct protocol was for situations like these. Where was the fine line located? Without any more time to consider my options, I decided to go in for a simple and polite hug.

He slowly wrapped his arms around my waist and I obliged him by wrapping my arms around his neck. He gently pressed my body further into his, our chests coming into full contact with the other, as his head dipped into the crook of my neck. My head had nowhere else to go except to rest against the crook of his neck as well. It was then, suddenly comprehending the fact that I was back in the arms of the only man I ever loved, that I felt that unique electricity between us once again. And it only drew me in all the more.

Instinctively, I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath to fill my lungs with all that was Edward. My senses were accosted by a mixture of ocean, sand, soap, detergent, Acqua Di Gio cologne, and the ever present and unmistakable inherent scent of pure Edward. All of a sudden this seemingly courteous hug felt more like a familiar embrace shared by long lost lovers. It felt so natural…so fitting. We both responded by tightening our holds on each other. I was taken out of my brief haze when he spoke again.

"God…Bella…you smell exactly as I remembered," he murmured into my neck.

My eyes flew open. I wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that. With the close proximity to him, his comfortable embrace and that nostalgic remark—my traitorous hormones would've responded with an "Oh, God…so do you" followed by a fervent kiss if it could. But with all these conflicting thoughts and emotions whirling through my mind, I knew better than that. Instead, I chose to remain silent, loosening my grip on him, and attempting to disentangle myself from our embrace. Edward noticed and slowly let go of me, backing up to a safe distance as I leaned back against the railing, my body now facing towards him and the house.

"Um…so, how was your trip? You guys just get in?"

"Yeah, we got in about half an hour ago. It wasn't too bad. Long…but a good time."

"Nice… So I guess everyone is getting settled then?"

"M'hmm, they're upstairs unpacking."

There was another slight pause; I nervously swallowed as he looked down at his bare feet.

"Whose room are you staying in?" His eyes looked up to meet mine.

_God, of course Edward had to ask._

"Um…yours. I guess."

"You guess?" His brow furrowed as he looked away. _What, was my reluctance too painful for him to hear or something?_

"Well, staying in your parent's room or your aunt and uncle's room would be too…weird. Not that staying in your room wouldn't be. But it's not like I've never slept in there before."

A sly smile formed on his lips as he idly stared into the distance, hiding whatever thoughts that materialized in his mind. I crossed my arms over my chest and shuffled my feet to hide the slight irritation building inside of me. Not to mention my irritation at my racing heart, which I swore he must've heard over the crashing waves.

"Did you get a chance to look around the house yet?"

"No, not really. Jazz took my bag up to your room so I haven't been upstairs. I came out here after walking around the first floor."

He gave me a wistful smile before looking away, searching for something else to gaze at, finally settling on the moon.

"You always did love it out here…"

"Mhmm…," was all I could reply. I felt a tinge of annoyance at his affirmation.

"A lot of fond memories coming back to you?"

_What the hell kind of question was that? Was he trying to torture me? I need to go the fuck inside._

He sounded almost pensive, and for me, this wasn't the right time for us to delve into anything or revisit old times like nothing unfortunate ever happened to us. This was the first time we've spoken to each other in four years—technically seven, since I hardly count the wedding as talking—and he expected us to just start reminiscing? _Slow it down there, buddy. That is not how I operate._

"What do you think, Edward?" I retorted back at him.

"Jesus, Bella. Relax…it was just a question." He huffed defensively. _Okay, that's better._ I'd much rather see him tense and frustrated right now. At least we'd be on the same page.

"Edward! Guys, come down! Eddie's out on the deck," Alice yelled to the others in the house. She spotted us from the kitchen and hurriedly slid the screen door open, bounding toward Edward to hug him.

"Oh my god, it's so good to see you," Alice squealed as she squeezed his ribcage.

"It's good to see you too Al. I missed you," Edward chuckled as they released each other from their hearty greeting.

Alice briefly glanced over at me, her excited smile still present on her face, then back to Edward to examine him as if he were a display mannequin at a store. _That is so like Alice._

"So what's it been, Eddie? Over two years since I last saw you? You're looking good there, buddy," Alice playfully teased. If this good-humored pixie wasn't Alice and was just some random girl, I'd be inclined to punch her in the face. _What the fuck is wrong with you, Bella?_

Edward was nervously laughing at her gracious remark. "Yeah, Christmas of 2007. You and Jazz should definitely come out more often to LA."

"I know. But you know how it is…with work and everything. Besides, who would keep Bella company in Seattle?" Alice came over to my side and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, her giant and now aggravating smile still plastered on her impish little face. _I'm going to throw her tiny ass into the ocean. _Thankfully, the rest of the crew came out, effectively saving both Alice and me.

"Eddie!" Rosalie practically bounced through the door and across the deck towards him. Emmett and Jasper were right behind her, snickering at Rosalie's reaction to seeing her cousin again. She fiercely hugged him, laughing as he picked her up off the ground with his familial bear hug.

"Jesus, Rose. You seem heavier than last time. Must've put on a few." Edward uttered as he feigned physical exertion.

"Fuck you, Eddie! I missed you!" Rosalie halfheartedly punched his stomach and then wrapped her arm around his waist. He kissed the top of her head in response.

"Em, it's good to see you, man." Edward released Rosalie to give Emmett a typical "man hug," both clasping each other's hand and slapping each other's back.

"Same here, bro. About fucking time we see your sorry ass!" Emmett joked back.

"Hey, I'm a busy man in LA. Gotta keep the groupies happy." The three guys chuckled at Edward's mindless joke while us girls rolled our eyes. _He could be such a freakin' moron._

"Eddie, my boy," exclaimed Jasper as he took Edward's face in his hands and humorously kissed his forehead.

Both laughed at Jasper's amusing welcome and greeted each other with a genuine hug.

"Fucking Jazz. Missed you, you lil' shit."

As simple conversation followed after all the hugs and sentimental expressions had died down, I couldn't help but look at our group, all finally reunited. There was laughter and happiness, and as much as I tried to keep my smile from fading, the truth was I was saddened by my present situation with Edward. _How did we let it come to this?_ _Why did I have to be so stubborn all the time and not call him, even once, these seven years? When will I ever forgive him? Or forgive myself?_

I needed a moment to breathe. Remembering that Rosalie wanted to have a toast and that we needed glasses, I decided to slip away and look for some in the kitchen. Her hand stopped me as I pushed off the railing to walk inside.

"You okay?" she quietly asked.

"I'm fine. I was going to get glasses for the champagne."

Rosalie nodded, understanding why I wanted and needed to leave the deck. Quietly walking around the group to avoid any attention, I could see through the corner of my eye that Edward had turned his head to watch me. I glanced over at him as I passed, the forlorn expression in his eyes contradicting the affable smile on his face meant for everyone else.

I quickly looked away, allowing myself to calm down and regroup once stepping foot into the kitchen. Looking for the champagne glasses proved to be more of a mission than I thought. However, any distraction at this point was certainly welcome. Unable to find the glasses in the kitchen, I spotted a stack of plastic cups in one of the cabinets. _These will have to do for now. _Since it was safe to assume that everyone knew I went back in the house, I wanted to make sure they all knew why I left in the first place.

"Alright people, enough with the chit chat. Let's pop open some bubbly and have ourselves a toast." I yelled out, holding up the cups in my hand.

"Plastic cups?" Rosalie asked in disdain.

"Sorry, Rose. I couldn't find the glasses. This is cheap, yet effective."

Emmett popped the bottles open, the corks flying off as us girls stifled involuntary shrieks. He poured each of us a good amount, the plastic cups allowing for more champagne than actual glasses.

"Aww, we're drinking alcohol in Solo cups…just like old times," Alice remarked as she took her cup.

Once we all had one, Edward raised his cup and addressed the group.

"I'd like to propose a toast. To Rose and Jazz. You guys are incredible. I couldn't ask for better cousins, or rather, a better brother and sister than the two of you. We love you and we're all honored to be here to celebrate your dirty thirty back at the Balboa House where it all began. So here's to the next two weeks of fucking mayhem… To old friends and to new beginnings."

He looked directly at me as he spoke the last line of his toast and raised his cup in a salute. I kept my eyes on his as we all raised our cups to cheers Rose and Jazz.

* * *

Our light and casual conversation continued after Edward's toast. We mainly talked about the latest news regarding our work and personal lives.

Alice gushed over still loving her job as a fashion buyer for a boutique store, having recently secured a deal with two of Seattle's up and coming fashion designers. She and Jasper apparently just decided on their wedding invitations, even though they still had over a year and a half to plan. At this point it seemed like all she needed now was her wedding dress.

Rosalie's job as a sex therapist was always keeping her busy. Although she wasn't allowed to name names or spill any juicy details, she frequently stated that there were tons of either seriously kinky or seriously deprived people walking among us. She and Emmett's wedding planning was well under way, with seven months left to go. The next thing on her to-do list was to register once they got back to Seattle.

Emmett and Jasper announced that McCarty and Hale's, their sports bar and live music venue, will be featured in Seattle's Line Out as one of the city's top "staple bars." They skipped over their personal lives, figuring Alice and Rose had given more than enough information about their upcoming weddings to suffice.

Edward claimed that it was business as usual over at Cedars-Sinai. The only exciting piece of news he offered was about a medical seminar he would be attending in Colorado, allowing him to get in some snowboarding time while he was there. Not surprisingly, he completely avoided the subject of his current love life. Whether or not he had one was still unclear.

As for me, my love life was pretty much nonexistent, which I'm certain everyone knew, so I chose to avoid that topic altogether as well. Instead, I informed everyone that I would be switching to teach AP English Literature in the fall. They automatically named Romeo and Juliet and Wuthering Heights as two of the works I'd be discussing with the class. _Am I really that predictable?_

Over a half an hour later, it was already past midnight, the bottles of champagne had been finished and we were all exhausted. We decided to call it a night and resume our little gathering in the morning over Sunday brunch. Before stepping back into the house, Edward stopped me and motioned me over to the side of the deck.

"Bella, I just wanted to…say goodnight." We were practically face to face, our bodies too close for me to feel remotely at ease, and yet I couldn't move away. He looked down and slowly moved to touch my forearm with his fingertips. I swallowed hard, my breathing starting to accelerate from the spark that ignited as soon as his fingers came in contact with my skin. They skimmed down my wrist, his palm gliding over the top of my hand, until his fingers met mine with a gentle grasp. He raised our hands up to his mouth, tensely licking his lips, our eyes intently looking at where we were connected. I felt his warm breath as he exhaled and placed a reverent kiss on my knuckles. I closed my eyes, overwhelmed and unable to process what was happening. I felt him lower our hands and release them, his head now moved to the side of mine.

"Tomorrow?" he timidly murmured into my ear.

I simply nodded, with eyes still shut, unable to look at him for fear of breaking my façade. I knew what he meant when he asked, and he knew what I meant when I didn't speak. We would talk tomorrow, since I couldn't bear to talk anymore tonight. Satisfied with my response, Edward lightly rubbed his cheek against my hair and kissed it with the same tenderness I had already committed to memory. I opened my eyes to watch him turn away, his presence fading as he walked across the sand, three houses down, and into his house.

As I walked in to the kitchen, it dawned on me that I still had yet to go upstairs and see Edward's bedroom. Knowing every single piece of furniture, every object, every souvenir, every photograph—everything in that room would evoke some faded memory of my life with Edward, I chose to sleep on one of the living room couches instead. _Tomorrow. I can put off everything until tomorrow._

I grabbed the first blanket from the large basket in the corner of the room—ironically, a UW blanket—and collapsed onto the longest couch. The day had taken its toll on me, in every way, shape and form. I desperately yearned for sleep, but was also anxious of what sleep may bring.

_Please…no dreams tonight. Just one night without Edward._

* * *

Musical Muses:

Sand in Your Shoes – This Providence

Wait – Sarah McLachlan

* * *

**Reviews are welcome!**

**Chapter 4 will be posted ASAP! I'm toying with the idea of alternating POVs for the next one. Not to worry, they finally start talking, and their progress will be gradual, but some sexual tension will be mixed in, too. Remember, they may feel angry, hurt, guilty and confused, but they're still insanely attracted to each other. So it's lot of push and pull with them…keep reading for some sexy times ahead. :-)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: All Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**This story is not to be reproduced or translated without the expressed consent of the author.**

**A/N: Thanks again to those who reviewed and to those who added me to their favorites and alerts. It means so much to me! Here's chapter 4, enjoy! Warning: lots of the F word, some drug usage and brief lemony goodness ahead.**

* * *

**Together at last at Twilight Time **

Chapter 4

Edward's POV

_Her breathy moans and my forceful grunts were all I could hear above the classical music gently playing through the speakers. We were in my old bedroom in the Balboa House, in the midst of coming down from yet another powerful orgasm we both just shared. I rolled my body over to the side and laid next to her as we stared up at the ceiling trying to catch our breaths, our minds still reeling over the high we had just experienced, no pun intended._

"_Jesus, Bella…that was fucking…insane. I think…I think I need another hit."_

_She turned her head to look at me and smirked. "Another hit of me or another hit off the pipe?"_

"_The pipe…and then you…again." I turned my head and smirked right back at her._

"_You're fucking relentless, you know that?" She playfully slapped my chest as she reached over me to grab our glass bowl. I couldn't help but latch on to her nipple since it just so happened to be near the vicinity of my mouth at that moment. She stifled a whimper as she retrieved it and sat up against my headboard. _

"_Easy, Cullen. My whole body is still sensitive."_

_I crawled to the foot of the bed to grab the sheet we had kicked off early on in our sexcapades and sat next to Bella, placing it over our legs. Even though we were still naked, Bella liked the feeling of having the covers over her legs anytime we smoked before, in between or after sex. From the looks of things, we were in the "in between" stage._

"_Alright, alright... By all means, ladies first." I motioned for her to light the bowl._

_She lit the bowl, took in one large deep breath, held it for a few seconds and slowly exhaled, the smoke trailing off her lips. God, she was so sexy when she smoked. She handed the bowl to me, then leaned her head back and closed her eyes. I followed her lead, placed the bowl back on the nightstand and scooted down to lay on my back. She tilted her head down to peek over at me._

"_Let me know when Junior is ready. 'Cause I'm good to go."_

"_Bella… Believe me, I'll let you know… What is it with you and weed that gets you so horny?"_

"_What, like weed doesn't make you horny?" She scooted down to lay on her side, her body facing me with one leg resting over mine. _

"_Mmmm...it does." I replied as she lazily circled my nipple with her middle finger._

"_You know, maybe it has something to do with the music. Did you ever think about that?"_

"_Ahh yes, the winning combination of marijuana and Beethoven. My two tickets to paradise. Show those at the front door and I'm in, baby!"_

"_Stop making fun of me or you'll pay," Bella griped as she pinched my nipple with her thumb and forefinger. _

"_Oooh, fuck yeah, baby…harder!" I joked back. _

_Pretty soon we were wrestling around, the touching and groping turning into kissing and sucking. I closed my eyes as Bella laid on top of me, kissing down the side of my neck as she started to stroke my hardened length between our bodies. _

"_Mmmm, I'm so glad we talked baby, and that we're right back where we should be," she mumbled into my neck as she continued to kiss me thoroughly. I was confused, her statement suddenly taking me out of our moment even though my body was still responding to her._

"_What?" I said in between my groans. She moved up to suck on my earlobe._

"_You know, earlier…when we finally talked. I'm glad we got everything out in the open. God, I missed you. All of you… It's been way too long, Edward."_

_I opened my eyes and what I saw baffled me. Bella was still on top of me, switching off between sucking my earlobe and my neck. But my room had changed. Instead of being in my old bedroom in the Balboa House, we were now laying in my current bed at my own beach house. _

"_What the fuck?" I mumbled to myself. Bella stopped what she was doing and lifted her head to look at me. _

"_Edward, are you okay?"_

_I couldn't form a coherent sentence, let alone a coherent thought in those few seconds. I was staring at her in disbelief. Bella now looked about ten years older than she had been just a minute ago. _

_Holy shit, what was happening? Did I smoke some bad weed? I looked over at my nightstand and noticed that it was completely different—like everything else in the room—and that there was no bowl in sight._

"_What the fuck is going on?" I was starting to panic, strangely enough, given the fact that I was in bed with my Bella. _

"_Babe…are you high? We just made love. God…make up sex after seven years. Holy shit, that was amazing, wasn't it?"_

_I thought back to what just happened...or what I thought had just happened. All I remembered was having a weed induced sex marathon with Bella in my old bedroom, where she looked like she was about twenty years old. I couldn't recall anything about having "the talk" with her, or having make up sex after seven years, in my current bedroom with a Bella who looked like she was now thirty. I had no idea what the hell was going on. However, in spite of my puzzled state, I couldn't help but physically react to the attention Bella was giving my cock with her hand. _

"_Yes…yes it was." I agreed to whatever the fuck Bella was referring to. Sex with Bella was always amazing though, so it wasn't a lie._

_She stopped pumping me and glided her hand up my side, finally placing it under my shoulder to match her other hand's position. She shifted her body to rest most of her weight on her knees as she hovered over me, straddling my very alert member._

"_How about we make up all over again," she whispered into my ear as she glided herself onto me._

"_Shiiiit…" I breathed into her hair. She was so slick, so tight. _

_All of a sudden, Bella was licking my face profusely, and I was surprised by her boldness. But then she moved on to eagerly lick my nose._

"_Ummm, Bella, what are you doing?" She wouldn't respond nor stop._

"_Bella…Bella. Stop. Stop it." _

My hand moved up to feel my nose and was met with Leah's slimy saliva, her morning breath being heavily panted into my face.

_I should've known this was a dream._

"Fucking Leah." Not even bothering to look up from my pillow, I rubbed her head once and pointed my finger at the door. "Out!" She scurried off into the hallway and down the stairs, hopefully not getting into any trouble on the first floor. Now fully awake with my eyes still shut, I rolled over and sighed heavily into my pillow, trying to wrap my head around the trippy wet dream I just had. Obviously the dream was part past, part hypothetical future. One minute we were smoking up and having high sex during one of our spring breaks at the Balboa House, the next we were having seven years worth of makeup sex in this very bed.

Having high sex with Bella while listening to classical music was a pretty popular scenario in my dreams. It was also one of our favorite past times. I knew Bella had a thing for classical music ever since I had first taken her to the piano practice rooms back at UW while we were both baked out of our minds. Apparently weed and classical music together was her sexual kryptonite because halfway though the second movement of Beethoven's Sonata Pathetique she attacked me and we had crazy, mind-blowing sex on top of that piano. I shamelessly used this to my advantage after that, knowing fully well what would ensue once we smoked up and I played my "Classical" playlist on my desktop.

Last night, however, the dream was so vivid, that I had no idea it was a dream at all. So when the dream shifted to us lying in this bed after reconciling several years later, I was dazed and confused. I was beginning to wonder whether my mind had blocked out our entire supposed conversation since I couldn't recall it for the life of me. And yet Bella felt so real against my skin, that it felt like it was all really happening. Perhaps, I had daydreamed about our past habit of getting high and making love, while I was having make up sex with the only woman I truly ever loved. It was real, we had already forgiven each other and we were back to being "us" again.

And then I woke up.

_Of course, you fucker. It was just a fucking dream. Like it's that easy._

I looked over to the clock on my nightstand. _Seven thirty nine._ My eyes focused in on the bottle of bourbon next to the clock, along with an almost empty glass, a reminder of the nightcap I indulged in right before passing out. I sat up and rubbed my eyes with my palms, letting out a frustrated grunt. Falling back asleep for a few more hours was now out of the question. I was also sporting some serious morning wood, even though the dream was beginning to feel more like a nightmare at this point. _That fucking cockteasing shit wasn't even real. _But I knew that had I not been woken up by my bitch of a dog, Leah, my nightmare would've eventually turned back into a fucking hot dream given the situation Bella and I were…almost in. _I need to find some release, stat. _

I trudged to the bathroom and headed straight for the shower. Under the scalding hot water, my mind was fixated on one thing. _Bella's body and the things I could do to it._ With several images of Bella positioned on me running through my mind, I quickly found the release I was so desperate for. After shampooing and washing the rest of my body, I dried off and threw on a pair of navy blue board shorts and an old UM t-shirt. I looked over at my clock again. _Eight thirteen. _Rosalie had suggested making brunch for eleven thirty since we all knew Emmett and Jasper would be sleeping in given that they both drove the whole way from Seattle. That gave me a good amount of time to kill.

I walked downstairs to find Leah patiently waiting by the sliding door. "Yeah, I know, Leah. Lemme just drink something real quick." I poured myself a glass of orange juice, gulping it down without a pause, then picked up a frisbee from her pile of toys and walked towards the door. "You ready, Lee?" She excitedly barked as I slid open the door for her. We ran out onto the sand, throwing the frisbee into the distance. As I mindlessly tossed the frisbee while Leah fetched it, my thoughts drifted back to last night when Bella and I first saw each other out on the deck.

The sight of her, standing right in front of me, was breathtaking. The first time I touched her, our bodies pressed up against one another in a long awaited embrace, I felt that indescribable current blaze between us once again. _Home._ Mindlessly, I breathed in to quench my thirst for all that was Bella. _Strawberries, freesia, sand, sea…and pure Bella. Home. _I couldn't help but voice my inner monologue of how she smelled exactly the same. I sensed that she became tense after my admission, and rightfully so. And as much as I tried to push the envelope with how nostalgic I could get, my instincts told me to hold off from forcing myself on her or from trying to relive our sexual past right there on the sand. _Stupid fucking raging hormones. _

As I was welcomed by everyone else in the group, all of us happy and excited over our reunion, I noticed that Bella's smile wasn't as bright as the rest of theirs. I knew exactly why because I felt the same way. _How did we get to this place? How come I never reached out to her, after seven years of nothing? When will I forgive her for wanting to end us? Can I forgive myself for being the one who really ended us? _But I knew that being here with Bella, back at the Balboa House, was my second chance at making things right. I needed her to know that, if only through the most simplest of gestures I could possibly muster.

My toast was not just meant for Rosalie and Jasper, but also inadvertently meant for her…at least the last part. And when we said goodnight, I wasn't able to stop myself from being close to her again, testing my restraint as I treaded the fine line between what Bella deemed acceptable or not. I touched her forearm, her wrist and finally her fingers as I grasped her hand for a tender kiss across her knuckles. It was honest and straightforward, expressing enough emotion I felt she could handle at the time. Before turning to leave the deck, I took a chance and kissed the part of her hair closest to her cheek. At that point, even I had had too much, slowly cracking under my own self-control. Once inside the safety of my house, I headed straight for the bottle of bourbon and brought it to bed with me.

And here I was, playing with my dog, counting down the minutes to when I could see Bella again. Although we still had yet to talk about everything, I briefly wondered if my dream/nightmare could actually become a reality after all was said and done. _A man can dream…evidently. _As I threw the frisbee to Leah for what seemed like the thousandth time, two figures came into my line of sight out in the distance. They were running, pretty fast, in my direction. Eventually, I recognized that it was Rosalie and Bella. They were both too focused to notice my presence on the beach, as Bella nudged ahead of Rosalie in what was an apparent race. She ran up to the deck and jumped from side to side as she raised both her hands up in a show of victory. Rosalie reached the deck a couple of seconds after her, doubling over in exhaustion afterwards. They stood there, talking about something as they both stretched and cooled down. And then Bella playfully punched Rosalie in the arm before they headed back into the house. Smiling at the interaction between them, it dawned on me that I haven't seen Bella like that in what seemed like forever. It was a bittersweet moment; knowing that for the past several years Bella had led a somewhat content existence with my family and friends…and without me.

Leah was already getting bored, having moved on from our game and now running towards our deck to get back into the house. I strolled up the deck, opening the door for both of us and checked the time on the microwave. _Eight fifty nine._ I was getting antsy; I needed something to do. _What about groceries? They don't have much food in the house right now. Highly doubtful that anyone went out this morning to get any. _With that thought in mind, I decided to wait until nine thirty to head over to the house and offer to get whatever was necessary for at least the first week. _Good game plan._ Now, all I had to do was entertain myself for the next half hour.

* * *

Bella's POV

My eyes fluttered open to find the sun already rising across the horizon. I blinked my eyes a few times, unsure of exactly where I was for a moment. The comfortable couch had cradled my body so I just assumed that I was sleeping on a bed. But the gleaming sunlight passing through the floor to ceiling windows made it apparent that I was definitely not in a bedroom, with its curtains drawn, efficiently shutting out most of the morning light. I stretched my body and sat up, taking in my surroundings. Then I realized that I didn't dream last night. Or if I did, I couldn't remember it. For the first time in several months, there was no dream involving Edward. And no Dramamine was necessary. _There must be a God!_

Although I knew this day would undoubtedly be the day that Edward and I would finally start talking about whatever the hell happened to and between us, my mood was rather quite chipper. Perhaps it was from the deep and peaceful sleep I haven't had in months or the fact that I was back here with my friends at an old and familiar place. Or maybe it was because Edward was really here, that we were both here, regardless of what our circumstances were. Whatever the reason, I was thankful. Remembering that my bags were in Edward's room, I got up and slowly walked up the stairs, pausing at his door, my hand idle on the doorknob. _Let's not fuck up your mood, Bella._ With a heavy sigh, I opened the door and cautiously walked in.

Being back in Edward's bedroom wasn't as nerve wracking as I expected it to be. Looking around the room that I once thought of as my third bedroom—the second being Edward's dorm room—my mind took everything in. It was a lot barer than before, with less pictures on the dresser mirror, and less mementos strewn about the room. Piles of our clothes were no longer scattered around the floor and our old college textbooks, once piled on his desk and a spare chair in the corner, were now all showcased on one of his shelves. It felt strangely unoccupied. And yet all I could envision around me was the two of us, memories flooding back into my consciousness. It was a bittersweet moment, standing in the middle of this room, feeling our past emanating from everywhere, but also seeing our present, a stark contrast. I heard a faint knock at the door and saw Rosalie's head peek in.

"Hey…thought I'd find you here. How come you slept on the couch?"

"Couldn't bring myself to sleep in here, I guess." I sat down on the bed and looked out the window. Rosalie crossed the room to sit beside be.

"You know I love you, right?"

I looked at Rosalie and nodded, a little apprehensive of what I was about to hear.

"Well honestly I think it's about fucking time that the two of you suck it up, grow some balls and man up."

"I'm a woman, Rose. Technically I can't grow balls."

"You know what I mean, B. Seriously, you and Edward need to face each other and both get all of your shit out in the open. I tried to stay out of it all this time and eased up on both of you over the years. But it's been seven years. Seven! You know, you guys were bound to meet up again, if not over and over again. And now you're both here…together. This is your chance."

I was looking down at the floor, fretfully biting my lip. _God, I hate when Rosalie is right._ After a minute of taking in all she had said, I sighed, looked up at her and smirked.

"Is there ever a time when you're not Dr. Hale?"

"Hmm… When I'm drunk… Or in the bedroom. Unless Em wants me to play."

"You're fucking disgusting. You know I hate you, right?"

"I know. I hate you, too." Rosalie stood up and walked towards the door.

"It's seven twenty. We're running in ten," Rosalie yelled out to me from the hallway.

"Mmm'kay. I'll meet you downstairs," I yelled back at her.

I rummaged through my bag to find my running shorts, my sports bra and an old UW tank top, quickly got dressed and pulled my hair into high ponytail. I jogged into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I lightly applied sunscreen to my face, shoulders, arms and legs, knowing firsthand how harsh the sun was at any time of day on this beach. Upon descending the last stair, Rosalie threw a water bottle towards me.

"Think fast!" My reflexes were quick enough to catch it just in time.

"What the hell, Rose? I think you're spending way too much time with Em."

"I'm just helping you get your heart pumping for this run. Think you can keep up with me little girl?"

Rose loved to talk some smack. For as long as I've known her, our competitive natures had always made for some good banter. She had also always been an avid runner. So when I took up running three years ago and was able to keep up, and in most cases, overtake her during our daily runs, she made it a point to start her trash talking before each run.

"Pshh, okay…more like can you keep up with me. We all know who's the faster runner."

"You're forgetting one important variable this time, B. We're running on sand. Totally different than on pavement."

"Erroneous! Erroneous on all counts!" I yelled back as we stretched out on the deck.

"Ohhh, we shall see… Alright, it's already seven forty five, let's rock this bitch."

With our bodies adequately stretched and the bullshit from our mouths finally concluded, we began our run. An hour later, we were both ready to get back to the house and take nice long showers. Both of us had kept up with the other the whole time, so when I saw the house in the distance I figured I'd fuck with her a little bit.

"Ten bucks, loser pays up." I panted towards Rosalie.

"You're on, biyatch!"

We both sprinted down the beach, our eyes focused on the house. Rosalie had a good pace going, but I knew I had more in me. I quickly increased my pace, leaving Rosalie behind as I jumped up onto the deck and hopped around victoriously while she ran up behind me, nearly falling over from weakness.

"Pay up, looosah!" I laughed as we both started stretching and cooling down.

"No fucking way…you cheated." Rosalie wheezed while pacing back and forth on deck.

"How did I cheat?"

"I don't know, you just did, alright? How about this, I'll pay you triple if I see you making out with Edward by the end of the night."

I punched Rosalie's arm as we walked into the house. "Keep your stinkin' money. The win alone was soooo worth it."

"Whatever, B. You're the one who stinks. Go…take a shower or something."

I laughed as I took two stairs at a time, back up to Edward's room. After gathering everything I needed for my long awaited and much needed shower, I locked myself in the bathroom and didn't emerge until forty minutes later. Dressed in a pair of denim shorts and a dark blue halter top, my hair loosely clipped back, makeup lightly applied and feeling completely energized, I walked down the stairs and headed towards the kitchen. What I found, or more precisely, who I found in the kitchen sitting at the island had taken me by surprise.

_Good morning, indeed._

* * *

Edward's POV

It was eerily quiet as I walked through the sliding door into the Balboa House. It was a little after nine thirty and although that would be considered late based on our normal routines, we were all running on Balboa time. Which meant only a few of the crew would've been up by now. I walked to the kitchen island and sat down on one of the stools, unsure of where everyone was or if I should look around and find them. A notepad on the counter caught my attention; a grocery list in Rosalie's handwriting. Most of the items were things we regularly bought whenever we vacationed here. I snorted at a few additions, all healthier and weight friendly. _When did we get so old and responsible?_

"Hey, um…good morning. I didn't know you'd be here." Bella startled me as she quietly walked into the kitchen.

"Morning… Would you prefer if I left?"

"No, no…um, that's not what I meant," she quickly replied. She already looked flustered at my mere presence. I could tell by her distinct blush which rose up her chest and across her face. Her whole reaction was actually quite endearing. I had to hold back from chuckling.

She crossed the kitchen and started to make some coffee. "You want some?" she asked, pointing to a second mug as she took one from the cabinet. "I'd love some," I replied, wondering if she got the double meaning behind my words. _Hey, it was set up for me so perfectly. _She paused for a second, staring back at me, before she blinked her eyes and slightly shook her head in what looked like an effort to clear her thoughts from her mind. Her back was now turned to me, directing all her attention towards making our coffee.

"Did you sleep well?" I asked, attempting to ease the slight tension in the room.

"Actually, I did. First time in a long time," she said over her shoulder, reaching for the sugar in the other cabinet.

"That's good… So I take it my old bed is still comfortable," I nervously inquired.

There was a slight pause as she opened the drawer to take out two teaspoons. "Uhh, yeah, well… I ended up sleeping on the living room couch."

"Oh. Why?" I asked, walking over to the fridge to get the small carton of milk I had put in there the day before. She turned around, placing the sugar and spoons on the island and looked in my direction.

"I dunno. I guess last night was too much for me to handle. After our goodnight… I just couldn't walk into your room and lay in our—your bed."

I stood there, carton of milk in hand, the fridge door still opened, staring at her as she said those words. Maybe I had come on too strong. I shouldn't have hugged her so intimately or kissed her goodnight. At least so soon after seeing each other. But she corrected herself when she said 'our bed.' Which meant part of her still thought of us as an 'us.' At least a small part of her did. I played off my brief stupor by pretending to look for some coffee creamer and then walked back to the kitchen stool. _Real slick, you dumbass. _Bella turned back around and set our mugs of coffee on the island.

"Thanks, Bella."

"No problem."

We silently poured the milk and sugar into our coffees and took careful sips, both looking down as we placed the mugs back on the counter.

_God, I can hear that damn grandfather clock it's so quiet. Say something._

"Look. I'm sorry if I came on too strong last night. I don't know… I just… I just missed you, and you were there in front of me…after all this time away."

"It's fine. I…missed you too, Edward… This is just a lot to take in. At least for me." She was still looking down at her mug.

"It's a lot for me, too. But you know me, I'm so bad at holding back." I joked, looking right at her, hoping she would meet my eyes.

She did, her eyes meeting mine with a gentle smile. "You should do something about that, Edward" she lightly teased back.

Another long pause fell between us, timid smiles masking our uncertainty of whether this was the time and place to bring up anything further. _Do I let her take the lead with this? Or should I just start yapping away? Fuck. What do I do? _

"Good morning, Eddie," Rosalie chirped as she strolled into the kitchen, ending the silence between me and Bella. "Thanks for saving me some hot water, B. That shower was divine," she gushed as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Sure thing, Rose," Bella said as she took a sip, looking up at me.

"So, Rose, I see you made a grocery list here. I was going to offer to pick up whatever we needed for the week. You want me to go or do you wanna go?" I asked, taking a sip, staring back at Bella.

"You can go if you want. That way I can get Em and the two lovebirds up while you're gone. Plus I need to check my work email one last time before the party really starts up. Oooh, I completely forgot the stuff we need for bloody marys and mimosas, so put that on the list, okay?" Rosalie was too busy with her rant to notice that Bella and I had been in a staring match the entire time she was talking. She started up her laptop, her attention now entirely directed away from us.

"I'll remember to get it while I'm out… Bella, would you like to come along for the ride?"

"Umm, sure. Let me just get my bag from upstairs."

* * *

Bella's POV

_Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! _"Shit," I quietly mumbled as I walked into Edward's room to retrieve my bag. _Okay, calm the fuck down. It's just Edward. It's not like you've never been alone with him before. Hello, you practically knew how many hairs were on his balls at one point. _Okay, maybe that was too much information, even for myself, but it was still true. I knew Edward, inside and out, and now, even the idea of being in a car and driving to the grocery store with him was sending me into a state of panic. _You're just getting groceries…how bad could it possibly be?_

Our small conversation in the kitchen over coffee had run smoothly enough and we were actually able to joke around to some extent. We had both consented that we missed each other; that was obviously a given. But we still hadn't even started talking about anything deeper than that. And now that we were going out to get groceries, just the two of us, I wondered if he might try to talk about things while we were both…trapped.

Noticing that I'd taken an inordinate amount of time to get my bag, I sighed and briskly walked down the hallway. _Suck it up, Bella. Too late to back out of anything now. _Edward met me at the bottom of the steps, a dazzling smile upon his face. I smiled back at him, a nervous yet genuine smile, as we walked side by side.

"Ready, Bella?"

"Yeah. We taking your car?"

"M'hmm. It's actually out front already. I drove it over, figuring I'd need it anyway if I was going out."

"Oh. How…smart of you."

Edward chuckled at my comment as we walked out the front door. The car in the driveway was different from the one he used to drive. It was a Volvo, like his old car, but it was now replaced with a dark metallic grey SUV.

"What kind of car is this?" I asked, sliding into the passenger seat.

"A Volvo XC60. You like?"

"It's a beautiful car. Roomy. Looks very safe," I pointed out, looking around at the interior.

"Yeah, so when I get married and have kids, I won't have to trade this baby in."

I furrowed my brow and glanced at him, curious as to why he would say something like that. But I quickly dismissed it as some random yet logical remark and stared out the window as he drove away from the house.

"So I was thinking of heading to Costa Mesa to go shopping. I want to check out the Trader Joe's while we're here. I freakin' love that place."

"You realize you just sounded like Alice for a second."

"Bella, have you ever been to a Trader Joe's before?"

"Yeah, I have. Alice and Rosalie, too, for that matter."

"So what's not to love about Trader Joe's?" Edward looked over at me with a serious expression on his face.

"I'm just teasing you… I've never heard Em or Jazz talking about a grocery store like that, though. Just saying."

"M'hmm." Edward was trying to suppress a smile, as I turned to face the window, hiding my own suppressed smile from his watchful eye.

The rest of the drive was met with silence, albeit a comfortable silence. Feeling less tense, I raised my hand over to the radio controls and looked over at him. He nodded his permission for me to change the station. Flipping through his preset channels, I realized they were the same exact stations he had saved in his last car, each having a specific channel setting according to his preference. I was amazed at myself for remembering in such detail what his preset channels were. I pressed the last channel, even though I knew what it would be…classical music. Like some Pavlovian response, my whole body flushed and a familiar tingling sensation coursed through my lady parts. _Guess some things never change. _I immediately switched it back to the first channel, allowing myself to regain some sort of composure. Hopefully Edward didn't notice my whole ordeal.

Eventually, we made it to Trader Joe's and parked the car, both of us giving the other a knowing grin as we passed through the entrance. From an outsider's perspective, our shopping excursion looked like any other one between your typical run of the mill couple; Edward was pushing the cart, while I walked ahead of him, studying the list in my hand. We mechanically went up and down the aisles, putting whatever we needed into the cart. Occasionally, one of us would make a bizarre or amusing comment about an item, even ones that weren't on the list, resulting in either a laugh or a witty response. But for the most part we leisurely meandered through the store, cooperatively working together, focused on our task at hand. We turned a corner and were greeted by a woman sharing samples with hungry passing customers.

"Would you like to try some mushroom ravioli today, ma'am?" she asked me as I passed.

"No, thank you," I politely declined.

She looked over at Edward. "What about you, sir? Would you like to try some mushroom ravioli?"

His eyes lit up as he took the sample from her. "Thank you," he replied, taking a bite out of the ravioli and humming in approval.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like some? Your husband seems to like it."

I turned to look at her, about to correct her misinterpretation, but was interrupted by Edward's quick reply.

"Mmm, she's right. Here, baby, you should really try some of this." He held the fork out in my direction, a half eaten ravioli stuck on the end of it. A devious smile formed on his face; Edward knew exactly what he was doing. He was playing along as the charming husband. Seven years ago, this whole act would've been cute, probably resulting in some serious role playing in bed later that night. But here, in the present, at a freaking sample stand at Trader Joe's…he wanted to play husband and wife?

"Thanks, _honey. _But I'm not hungry yet." I glared back at him.

"C'mon sweetie. I promise you…you'll love it." He was biting back his laughter now. I could see it in his face, all smug and gorgeous.

_Ohhh, he's so gonna pay. Two can play at this game, Edward._

"Okay…I'll try it," I relented. Moving a step towards him, my eyes locked on his, I slowly opened my mouth to take in the ravioli lingering on his fork. I closed my lips around the tines and seductively pulled my head back, closing my eyes as I chewed the ravioli.

"Mmmmm, baby. You were right... That was so incredible." I opened my eyes to see a stupefied Edward, utterly motionless, the fork still in its exact spot. I licked my lips and hit him with a final shot. "Almost orgasmic, actually. You should put a few bags of 'em in the cart, hon." I turned to the woman and she smiled in both embarrassment and confusion as I thanked her and walked away, not bothering to see what Edward looked like now.

I went back to checking off what was on the list and headed towards the few things we still needed. Preoccupied with trying to figure out which type of "pasta" Rosalie meant, I didn't notice Edward come up right behind me, his hands gripping my hips, the tip of his nose slightly brushing up against my cheekbone. "That wasn't very nice of you, Bella" he whispered into my ear. "I'm going to have to get you back for that." He firmly squeezed my hips and pressed a kiss into my hair, his lips lingering on the very same spot from last night. I involuntarily closed my eyes and bit my lip. _We need to leave this store…now. Stupid Trader Joe's. _

"Pasta," I heard him call out as I opened my eyes. He took a couple of boxes of penne off the shelf and tossed them into the cart. "You can cross that one out now. What's next?"

"Crushed tomatoes," I huffed in frustration.

For the duration of the time, we civilly acquired the rest of the items, purchased them and drove back to the house in complete silence and without further incident. Thankfully, Alice, Em and Jazz were already up by the time we got back and everyone came outside to help with the bags. Once all the bags were taken into the house, I quietly slipped upstairs to Edward's room to drop off my bag and recover from the emotional rollercoaster that was our Trader Joe's trip. For some strange reason, I didn't feel any anger towards him over what happened all those years ago, nor did I feel any pain. Instead, we were having a rather pleasant outing, reminding me how great we once were as friends, on top of being lovers.

Then he had to go and test my boundaries. And of course I had to go there as well, essentially fighting fire with fire. But it wasn't until the kiss in the pasta aisle that I felt the line of friendship which I had carefully drawn between us start to slowly blur. _No! It's still too soon. You're not supposed to want this. You're supposed to be upset. We still have to talk about…everything! _And as much as I tried to tell myself that, my body couldn't help but react to his nearness, the yearning for his touch building up inside of me. It was deliciously frustrating.

I was standing in the middle of his room, my fingers knotted in my hair, palms covering my eyes, trying to calm myself down when I heard the floor creak from behind me. I turned around to see who it was.

_Edward._

"Bella," he softly muttered, as he closed the door behind him, both of us suddenly aware that we were alone, in his room—_our room_—again…at last.

* * *

Musical Muses:

Piano Sonata No. 8, Pathetique, Movements 1-3 – Ludwig van Beethoven

Got You Where I Want You – The Flies

* * *

**Sorry this chapter was so long! I could've kept going, but I decided to end it there with a bit of a cliff hanger. You're all probably wondering what the deal is with their "talk," but they started the ball rolling and the rest will happen very, very soon. Keep in mind, it's still early the next day, plus they will be discussing things over the next few days, at the very least. Please don't hate me! :-) **

**Anyways, the next chapter will be up ASAP, I promise. Also, what did you think of the alternating POVs during this chapter? I'll probably do that again in future chapters here and there. **

**Thank you again for reading and reviewing!**


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